Investment firm says massive short of Truth Social stock before Trump shooting was ‘filed in error’
A massive stock trade just before the Trump shooting that sparked frenzied conspiracy theories has now been explained by the firm involved.
A Texas-based wealth management firm has apologised for a clerical error that gave the appearance it took a massive short position on shares in Donald Trump’s social media company just before Saturday’s assassination attempt.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by Austin Private Wealth dated July 12 showed the firm had shorted 12 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (DJT) via a put option, sparking frenzied conspiracy theories after the unusual trade was highlighted by a number of social media users.
Short selling is betting that a stock will fall in a given period.
“The SEC filing which showed that Austin Private Wealth shorted a large number of shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (DJT) was incorrect and we immediately amended it as soon as we learned of the error,” Austin Private Wealth said in a statement on Wednesday.
“No client of APW holds, or has ever held, a put on DJT in the quantity initially reported. The correct holding amount was 12 contracts, or 1200 shares — not 12 million shares, as was filed in error. In submitting the required report for the second quarter of 2024, a multiplier was applied by a third-party vendor that increased the number of the shares by a multiple of 10,000 for all options contracts (not just DJT). We did not catch the error before approving the filing.”
The July 12 filing reflected the firm’s positions on June 28, and Austin Private Wealth said it had been amended on July 16.
“We deeply regret this error and the concern it has caused, especially at such a fraught moment for our nation,” it said.
“We are committed to full transparency and maintaining the trust of our clients. As such, we are reviewing our internal procedures and our processes with the third-party vendor that assists with SEC filings to better understand how this happened and avoid similar issues moving forward.”
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, a NASDAQ-listed company launched in 2021 and traded as DJT, is the owner of Trump’s Truth Social platform and its wild swings in value have often been seen as a proxy for the fortunes of the former president himself.
Many of his supporters who have bought shares in DJT see it as a way of financially supporting Trump, who owns 60 per cent of the company, rather than a traditional stock investment.
The appearance of the unusual short position sparked conspiracy theories about Saturday’s assassination attempt at Trump rally in rural Pennsylvania that injured the former president, left one attendee dead and two others injured.
“Who knew the hit was coming,” X account WiseGuys wrote in one viral post viewed 3.6 million times. “DJT shorts skyrocketed the week before the hit. They thought Monday morning Trump would be dead. Who shorted millions of shares the week before the hit job?”
Shares in DJT skyrocketed after the shooting, jumping from $US31.25 on Friday to $US46.17 on Monday morning — an increase of more than 47 per cent — before settling at $US40.58, about 30 per cent higher than its previous closing price.
The whopping increase added about $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) to the value of Trump’s stake in the $US7.1 billion ($10.6 billion) company.
CommSec market analyst Laura Besarati told Sky News Australia host Ed Boyd on Tuesday the surge “certainly” could indicate investors believed Trump would win the November election.
“Last night was the first session of US trade following Trump’s attack and it’s clear that Trump is continuing to gain momentum,” she said.
“The probability on him winning the election has been boosted. Of course, the bets on Trump winning the election since the attack have been heightened after President Joe Biden’s poor performance in the recent debate late last month, but the expectation that Trump could have a win locked in has only grown.”
DJT closed at $US37.38 per share on Wednesday, about 20 per cent above its Friday closing price.
Investigators have determined that Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who lived in a town about 80 kilometres from the shooting in Butler, acted alone and have not been able to identify any strong ideological or political leanings.
He lived with his parents, worked in a retirement home and recently graduated from community college.
A search was conducted of his electronic devices — a laptop and two mobile phones — according to politicians briefed by the FBI and Secret Service in a closed session on Wednesday.
Among his recent internet searches were queries about Trump, President Joe Biden, the dates of the Butler rally and the upcoming Democratic convention.
Other searches were for FBI Director Christopher Wray, Attorney-General Merrick Garland and a member of the British royal family.
“They did get into the phone finally, good news,” Frank Figliuzzi, a retired FBI assistant director, told MSNBC.
“Bad news, it’s not helping them at all with regard to motive. There’s still no motive and I caution people — don’t expect some kind of logical motive here, don’t apply logic to lunacy. I remind people of the Las Vegas mass shooting years ago (in which 58 people died). We still don’t have a motive for that.”
Speaking to Fox News, Robin Dreeke, a former FBI agent, also said establishing a motive for Crooks may prove elusive.
“I think this was more of something he was going to try to do to get notoriety,” Mr Dreeke said.
Multiple investigations are being conducted into the attempted assassination.
One of the main questions being asked is how the gunman was able to secure a perch on the roof of a nearby building with a clear sightline of the stage even after being flagged by security.
Crooks “was identified as being suspicious one hour before the shooting”, said Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming. “The Secret Service lost sight of him.”
Rallygoers spotted Crooks on the roof of the building a few minutes before Trump took the stage and alerted police on the ground to his presence.
Crooks opened fire with an AR-style rifle just minutes after Trump began to speak, leaving him with a bloodied ear. He was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper 26 seconds after firing the first of eight shots.
The revelations provoked outrage among some Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Two rally attendees were seriously wounded in the shooting and a firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, of Freeport, Pennsylvania, was shot dead.
— with AFP
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